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After the Copa Libertadores match between Internacional and Fluminense played in Porto Alegre, Brazilian FIFA referee Paulo Cesar Oliveira was insulted and harassed by the fans outside the hotel where he was staying in the state capital.

Police said two of the Fluminense fans went across the street at around 5 a.m., and as soon as they saw and identified Paulo Oliveira, began firing insults. The two fans were drunk, but there was not any kind of confrontation between those involved. With the help of hotel security, the referee left the hotel without injury and, after checking out, he went into the Salgado Filho Airport, where he embarked for St. Paul. The fans were angry because of a penalty kick awarded by Oliveira. Last month, Paulo Oliveira suffered another disappointment when FIFA selected another Brazilian, Wilson Seneme, on the prospective list of referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Portuguese referee Jorge Sousa, who recently refereed his second League Cup final, Benfica – Gil Vicente, feels now relieved. The case of the threats he received from Benfica fans during the last two years came to an end. Out of seven defendants, six were found guilty and convicted by the court for home violation and aggravated injury by terrorizing the referee for several months, while one was acquitted.

"Be careful how you referee!" or "We know what you did and where you live!" were some of the messages that Jorge Sousa began receiving in November 2009 before the match Braga – Benfica (2-0). After the game, they followed up with several new SMS and phone calls with death threats to the referee, which prompted the complaint. After a quiet period, the fans started again. On 18 March 2010, the day he was appointed to referee Benfica – Porto (0-3) in the League Cup final, Jorge Sousa began to receive anonymous phone calls and SMS. In the mailbox, he found an unsigned manuscript, in which he was required to quit refereeing. The panel of judges considered the threats as evidence that caused terror and influenced the professional performance of the referee Sousa. The defendants were charged with home violation and had to pay compensation to Jorge Sousa. Two fans, Luis Marques and Rui Franco, were also found responsible for aggravated injury and have to pay heavier penalties - fines of 880 euros, respectively 1080 euros. The remaining defendants, Hugo Silva, Jose Sousa, Antonio Vieira and Tomas Lima, have to pay fines between 480 and 540 euros each.

UEFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina talked about the huge challenge facing the 12 match officials at UEFA EURO 2012 and the key to the art of refereeing. As one of the most recognisable figures in football during his days refereeing at the pinnacle of the European and world game, there is no one more qualified to dispense advice to the men taking charge at UEFA Euro 2012 than Pierluigi Collina. The 52-year-old, who acts as UEFA's chief refereeing officer, knows more than most in the modern game about the art of officiating football matches and stressed to UEFA.com the important role the 12 men who will take charge at the finals will play. With a lifetime of experience at the highest level behind him, the distinctive Collina made it clear that anticipation is the key to cracking the refereeing code. "The referee has to predict, he has to be aware of what can happen maybe one second later," he said. "This is the best way to be ready to make a decision. If you are surprised by something, you are very probably wrong. If you know that something can happen, you are ready; it's very probable that you will be right. So this is the main difference." The relationship between player and referee is at the heart of the message that the Italian is hoping to get across to the current crop of men in the middle; a message of trust which he believes will improve performance for participants on both sides of the divide in Poland and Ukraine this summer.

Pierluigi Collina has also been answering questions from around the world via Facebook and Twitter. The 52-year-old Italian is currently deploying his vast experience as UEFA's chief refereeing officer, but found time to reveal the biggest influence on his career, the best goal he saw live and the stadium in which he dreamt of refereeing.
- Have you ever felt intimidated after giving your decision for a goal, card, etc.?
- No. It's not easy to intimidate me. I am joking, of course!
- What was the most ridiculous excuse a player offered you to stop you booking him for a foul?
- Sometimes players are very creative in finding an excuse. I will write a book sooner or later to mention some of the excuses but some of them were very funny.
- What advice would you give to a young aspiring referee looking to replicate your success in refereeing?
- I don't think someone should aim to replicate what someone else has done, everyone should be themselves. The only way to reach the top in football as a referee is to work hard and be ready to make big sacrifices because this is the only way to be successful and achieve success.
- Is there a stadium in the world that you wish you could have refereed at but never got the chance?
- There are some but I have been very lucky because I have been in some wonderful stadiums. I never refereed at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, but I have seen Boca matches and the emotion at the stadium is very intense. So probably this is the one where I dreamt of refereeing.
- What is the best goal that you witnessed someone score in a game you were refereeing, Ronaldinho at Stamford Bridge?
- Live, the one that probably impressed me most was Ronaldinho at Stamford Bridge. The match was Chelsea v Barcelona and he scored in a very strange way using the point of his foot to find the corner of the goal from outside the penalty area. He shot when nobody was expecting it so this was one of the best.
- What do you think is the biggest challenge for the referees in the next five years?
- Football is changing and becoming faster. It's also becoming more difficult for the referees. So the challenge is to be educated to this standard, to continue or to try to be at the same standard. It will not be easy but the referees will do it.

The UEFA Referee Talent and Mentor program will start a new season by replacing some of the participants who already spent two years in the program. Stuart Attwell (ENG) from the Elite group, Arman Amirkhanyan (ARM), Artyom Kuchin (KAZ), Alan Black (NIR), Milorad Mazic (SRB) and Tom Harald Hagen (NOR) from the Talent group have already completed two years and graduated. They are being replaced by Vadims Direktorenko (LVA), Alan Sant (MLT), Szymon Marciniak (POL) and Ivan Kruziliak (SVK). The other referees, who were included by UEFA in the Talent and Mentor program last year, will continue for one more season: Clement Turpin (FRA), Antti Munukka (FIN), Gediminas Mazeika (LTU), Anar Salmanov (AZE), Stanislav Todorov (BUL), Liran Liany (ISR), Matej Jug (SVN).

The life of Mexican referee Juan Genaro Medrano has not been easy in the past year. His last match in the First Division was Atlas – Tijuana in the Apertura 2011. As required by the Mexican Referees Committee, he and his family moved ten months ago from Ciudad Juarez to Irapuato, which houses one of the five "Super Delegations" in which are concentrated the elite referees. His problems began after not passing the fitness test, which prevented him from refereeing matches at the highest level. While studying for his bar examination, Medrano had to referee in amateur leagues to financially support his family. In January, his condition weakened. His weight dropped from 76 kg to 62 kg and his body fat from 21% to 11%. He appeared very tired. Sources close to the referee say the doctor initially detected an anemia, but after the subsequent bone marrow biopsy he was diagnosed with a second grade leukemia. Sources close to the referee immediately pointed to the poor nutrition and supplements that he used to lose weight and prepare for the fitness tests as the cause for the disease. In spite of failing the fitness tests in November and January, the Referees Committee never asked Medrano to undergo a medical examination, but instead requested that the subject does not come to light.

When the situation finally emerged, the president of the Mexican Referees Committee, Aaron Padilla, confirmed the disease and said that "the situation is not as dramatic as people said on television and it has nothing to do with the fitness tests. We have 750 referees and all have been fine, have worked with great dedication and it never happened before". The reality is that the Mexican Referees Committee made their fitness tests stricter. They held their most recent fitness at noon, under high humidity and temperature. The reduction from 35 to 30 seconds for rest during the interval fitness test has caused problems for more than one referee and, as it leaked last week, the top referee Marco Rodriguez had to be restrained so as not to faint after the last sprint. A couple of months ago, another FIFA referee, Paul Delgadillo, was forced to travel from Guadalajara to Mexico City, although he suffered from sinusitis for which even had to stay in the hospital. Before that, referee Jaime Herrera was forced to withdraw from the tests with tachycardia and had to go to hospital. Former FIFA World Cup Referee Felipe Ramos Rizo summed up the situation: "Medrano did everything he was asked by the Referees Committee and is now abandoned. He changed residence, moved his family along, tried to be at the fitness levels required and now he is sick and not even able to support his family. This is very sad".

Super Delegations
Before the start of the season, the Mexican Referees Committee created five "Super Delegations" and forced referees to change their residence. Without receiving a fixed salary, they must stay in one of these cities (Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Aguascalientes and Irapuato), which allows them to be eligible for appointments whenever needed, the only guarantee of getting paid. Also, they have to pass fitness tests more stringent than the FIFA tests. The latter calls for referees to complete 10 laps of a 400-meter track at various intervals, with 35 seconds recovery walk after every 150 m sprints. In Mexico, referees must complete 12 laps and the walking time for recovery is reduced from 35 to 30 seconds.

The match officials selected for UEFA Euro 2012 will meet in Warsaw on 2 May for an open training session, press conference and interview sessions. The media day forms part of a workshop for referees, assistant referees, additional assistant referees and fourth officials which is taking place from 30 April to 3 May 2012 in the Polish capital in preparation for the UEFA European Championship in June. Each of the 31 games in Poland and Ukraine will be handled by a full team of seven match officials, with the referee, two assistant referees and the fourth official being supplemented by two additional assistant referees as well as a reserve assistant referee. On 2 May cameramen and photographers will be able to attend the first 20 minutes of a training session at the Agrykola Stadium (ul. Mysliwiecka 9), which will be preceded at 08.30 CET by a group photo. A press conference will follow at 11.30 at the Hilton Hotel (ul. Grzybowska 63), involving UEFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina, the 12 main referees, and the two fourth officials from Poland and Ukraine. Afterwards, media representatives will have the possibility to conduct one-to-one interviews with the match officials.